even when the world changes
by cocoagua
Summary: Dan remains as Blair's friend throughout all the changes in her life.  as prompted and inspired by bluebaby1219


**As requested by bluebaby1219 :)**

Brooklyn is her safe place. Dan knows everything. He doesn't approve of her lies; but he never leaves. "It's not fair to Louis" he says when she discloses that the child is Chuck's but Louis' doesn't know, wouldn't know. "He wouldn't find out." She counters. "That's probably what Georgina thought." His eyes grow dark and she realizes her mistake.

...

It doesn't work out with Louis: They lose the baby, the sole heir to the throne. He gets depressed and blames her. "You didn't take care of my child!" He yells at her and throws her a sad look as he buries his head in his hands. She blames herself for getting stressed, not getting enough rest, not eating enough of the right things. She blames herself for lying. She wakes up with an excruciating pain and a pool of blood on the bed. "The baby was never yours to lose." She whispers. Now or never, she thinks. Louis makes sure it's never as he ups and leaves. "You and Chuck will burn in hell together."

...

She strangely feels relief, freedom. It lasts for a day, until Dan tells her Louis leaked her tryst to the media. Chuck also comes to her aid. He apologizes about the baby, about Louis. "Go out with a bang" he says. So they do, together.

Chuck has changed. He's attentive, let's her talk first, let's her have the last laugh. Chuck doesn't drink anymore, doesn't force himself on her, doesn't badmouth her; he's different. She still asks Dan what he thinks. He falls silent. "You just don't want me to be happy." She accuses him. "That's where you're wrong, Blair. All I want is for you to be happy." She doesn't try to stop the tears that fall down her face. He's still her rock.

...

"We're getting married." She tells him as he opens the door to the loft. It's obvious how his face falls. But he nods, as always, and lets her in. They sit on the couch, she snuggles close to him and holds his hand. His thumb rubs gently on her hand.

"He's changed, Dan." She tells him, as if trying to convince him that it's not a bad idea. Maybe she's trying to convince herself. Maybe she wants him to stop her. He doesn't. He just sits there and hugs her.

...

She sits beside Chuck at the table and she smiles. She has everything now: Chuck is a changed man, he doesn't drop his name like ammo, doesn't throw away money. Waldorf-Bass will be her new last name. She doesn't want to drop the Waldorf. His hand find hers under the table.

Her smile reaches her ears as she nods at each person who makes eye contact, congratulating her for the beautiful party. She scans the room and finds Serena and her new beau. For the nth time that night, her eyes linger on the vacant seat beside Serena.

...

"You didn't come." Her anger is inexplicable; her eyes dig into his. He looks at her with a sad expression on his face and steps aside to let her in. The loft is a mess. She looks around and finds his clothes on the floor, paper all over the desks and dishes unwashed in the sink. It doesn't take a genius to know that if Dan's loft is messy, something must be going on. Blair lets out a small sigh and decides to prod on. "Humphrey? What's up with you? Why didn't you go to my engagement party?"

"What do you want me to say, Waldorf?" He asks in a very mild tone. His face still registers sadness as he looks back at her, breaking down her walls, pulling her out of her anger, confusing her. Her heart skips a bit as he looks at her as if she's all that he can see; as if, in the middle of the mess, she's all that matters. She realizes all of a sudden why she wanted to see him at the party.

"That you support me." She tells him in a whisper, he almost doesn't hear her. He watches her as she sits on the couch, observing how comfortable she seems on it.

"I do." He says, following her to the couch. He sits next to her and takes her hand before falling silent again.

"But you weren't there. I kept waiting for you but you didn't show up." She pulls her hand away and stares at him. "I... I needed to see you there... needed to know that you support me! But you didn't show up. Why didn't you?" Just like that, she breaks down. Tears fall down her face as she stares at him, waiting for answer.

"Why does it even matter, Blair?" He asks exasperatedly.

"I don't know! OK? I don't know. I just thought that if you were there, if I saw that you could be there for me with that... I'd know that I'm doing the right thing."

"You don't need me for that." He smiles at her. "You don't need anyone to tell you that you're doing the right thing." He reaches out and caressed her cheek, his thumb grazing gently on her face.

"I don't want to marry Chuck."

...

The wedding doesn't push through. Chuck doesn't lash out at her but falls back to his drinking, to the numerous women lined up suddenly at his door. He says he doesn't understand how a certain Humphrey can be better than him. He punches Dan instead, more than once, and adds kicks to make his point. "Just because I can't hurt Blair, it doesn't mean I can't beat you up until you're begging for your life!"

Dan doesn't fight back. Not with punches at least. "Hurting me won't make Blair love you back either. We both know that." Chuck stops and walks away.

...

They take a staycation. She laughs at him when he suggested it. But he ignores her. "What the hell is a staycation, Humphrey?" She watches as he takes a bag out of her closet and cringes as he puts in some of her clothes in it.

"A vacation. Where we stay in. You, me, the loft. Phones turned off. What do you say?" He walks over to wear she's standing, pulls her by the waist and kisses her nose. She cringes jokingly and smiles.

"Staycation... sounds good." She wraps her arms around him and buries her face in his chest. They both know they have each other, even when the world changes.


End file.
